Commentary All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association.

Venous thromboembolism, which manifests as eitherdeep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, isone of the most common cardiovascular disorders in industrialized countries, affecting about 5 % of people in their lifetime.1 Pulmonary embolisms are highly fatal, and in 22 % of cases, they are not diagnosed until after they cause death.2 If untreated, pulmonary embolism has a high mortality and accounts for 5%–10 % of all in-hospital deaths.2,3 Registry data shows an overall 3-month mortality of 17.4%.4 Of these deaths, 45 % were ascribed to pulmonary embolism and 75 % occurred during the initial hospital ad-mission for pulmonary embolism. There is room for con-siderable improvement in the management of pulmonary embolism, but it remains unknown whether preventive measures, diagnosis, treatment modalities, or physician or patient education should be the focus. Research that may help elucidate the problem may help to create a solution